No, what the government says is "use of X is sufficient evidence to support a warrant", then the fact the everyone does it is irrelevant - you only use it against enemies so that's the only time it comes up. Because this is likely government triggered invasion of privacy, it's easy to see how a government can then make it appear that a given [ab]use of the law be "legit".

In CA for example the standard highway speed limit is 65mph, but everyone drives well over 70 (this isn't a silly "everyone does it", it's a "if you're doing 65 you may well be rear ended"), this means that the CHP can basically choose whoever they want to pull over, despite everyone breaking the same laws. Essentially they've created a system where everyone is breaking a law so that they can then selectively charge.

This rhetoric is already applied against onion websites and similar decentralized networks.

Easy. Make everyone think that you have to hide something or create a fake stories that pedos use app X.

> if you have nothing to hide, why don’t you show it?

Is also “nice” rhetoric that laymen agree with.

Probably not popular, but it would be really easy for the state to do it. All they need is their larger media outlets to make a few daytime TV story lines featuring these apps in their narratives, a couple big budget movies, some exaggerated "criminal activity" headlines in the major press. Next thing you know we get the next Satanic Scare.

The average person uses whatsapp, has no idea about security, has never heard of signal. The media will tell them signal is specifically setup up to prevent law enforcement. They will give an example of a drug dealer that gets caught and has the app on their phone. Even if the dealer didn't use signal for dealing the connection is presented.

The average person will connect the dots. Signal is an underground app for illegal stuff. I have nothing to hide so I don't need Signal to exist. People must use signal for the most illegal and disturbing thing I can think of. Signal users must be pedos. Signal must be banned.

This is how power uses media to control the masses. They don't need to make the claim they simply present facts in a narrative and allow the average person to connect the dots making them feel like they figured it all out themselves.